British troops in secret truce with the Taliban

[bemildred]

BRITISH troops battling the Taliban are to withdraw from one of the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan after agreeing a secret deal with the local people.

Over the past two months British soldiers have come under sustained attack defending a remote mud-walled government outpost in the town of Musa Qala in southern Afghanistan. Eight have been killed there.

---

The deal — and the avoidance of the word ceasefire — allows both sides to disengage without losing face, an important aspect in the Afghan psyche. Polls suggest that 70% of the population are waiting to see whether Nato or the Taliban emerge as the dominant force before they decide which to back.

Fighting in Afghanistan traditionally takes place in the summer and there are concerns that the Taliban could simply use the “cessation of fighting” to regroup and attack again next year. But there are clear signs of the commitment of the people of Musa Qala to the deal, with one Talib who stood out against it reportedly lynched by angry locals.

Times On Line

[WinkyDink]

1. Afghan women will be delighted at this turn of events. Blair must be proud

[pinerow]

2. I'll wait for a more reputable source...

nt

[CJCRANE]

3. IMO

there's a difference between Taliban and al-Qaeda. The Taliban are the local warlords and foot-soldiers, they're primitive and harsh but they don't pose a threat to the West. They should be left alone to develop at their own pace (or helped in more peaceful ways), it's not our job to go around wiping out backward cultures.

[BeHereNow]

4. Guess some people DO learn from history.

Too bad Americans have no memory
or understanding of the situation.

BHN

[BeHereNow]

5. Asia Times article: "Military policy in Afghanistan 'barking mad'

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/HI30Df02.html
Sept. 30, 2006
Excerpt"
"Captain Leo Docherty said the British campaign in Helmand province was "a textbook case of how to screw up a counterinsurgency". His statements came in an open letter that was reported in the British media - but not followed up in much public debate.
The officer raised the fundamental question of the development of Afghanistan arising from the campaign to capture Sangin town in Helmand, a military campaign in which he participated. Docherty says British troops managed to capture the Taliban stronghold, but then had nothing to offer by way of development.
"The military is just one side of the triangle," he said. "Where were the Department for International Development and the Foreign Office?" As forces sat back with little to offer, the Taliban hit back and British troops there were bunkered up and under daily attack, he wrote. "Now the ground has been lost and all we're doing in places like Sangin is surviving," said Docherty. "It's completely barking mad."

Indeed, Capt'n
BHN